- A 2.6-pound quahog clam believed to be 214 years previous was present in Florida’s Alligator Level final month.
- The clam was seemingly born in 1809 – the identical yr as Abraham Lincoln – and is called “Aber-clam Lincoln.” He will be the fourth oldest clam on document.
- The clam’s caretakers launched him into the Gulf of Mexico.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Aber-clam Lincoln, a quahog clam believed to be 214 years previous, was launched into the Gulf of Mexico final week by his caretakers on the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab.
Americorps member Blaine Parker dug up the two-century previous mollusk at Florida’s Alligator Level, whereas amassing shellfish to make chowder.
Parker stated the clam is hefty sufficient to make two servings – and has shells giant sufficient to make use of as bowls to serve it in.
“We had been simply going to eat it, however we considered it some time and figured it was in all probability fairly particular. So, we didn’t wish to kill it,” stated Parker.
As an alternative, he took it to the aquarium on the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab, the place he works as a specimen collector.
Whereas most Ocean quahogs are inside 2.8 to 4.3 inches in size and weigh as much as a half pound, Lincoln checks in at 6 inches and weighs 2.6 kilos.
Parker stated a clam, like a tree, lays down annual development bands, alternating bands of sunshine on its shell, which scientists used to estimate its age.
There are 214 layers on the shell of the clam he discovered, which might imply it was seemingly born in 1809 – the identical yr as Abraham Lincoln. It was additionally found on Presidents Day weekend. So, Parker named his discover Aber-clam Lincoln.
What are Quahog clams?
Quahogs happen within the Atlantic from Greenland south to North Carolina.
They transfer about by being tossed within the surf, and crawl alongside the sand by increasing and contracting their muscle.
With Lincoln being so previous, it’s doable that circumstances moved him south – making him one of many oldest identified Florida transplants.
Quahogs are identified to reside 200 or extra years. A 507-year-old clam, discovered within the Icelandic seabed and named Ming, broke the Guinness World Document for oldest animal when it was found in 2007.
Scientists assume an unimaginable low metabolic charges of Lincoln and different quahogs is chargeable for their lengthy life. A 2018 College of Kansas examine on the vitality wants of 299 species of extinct and dwelling bivalves discovered these with minimal vitality necessities escaped extinction.
“The decrease the metabolic fee, the extra seemingly the species you belong to will survive,” Bruce Lieberman, the examine’s co-leader stated in an announcement on the time.
“As an alternative of survival of the fittest, perhaps a greater metaphor for the historical past of life is survival of the laziest, or a minimum of survival of the sluggish,” stated Lieberman.
‘Survival of the sluggish’:Laziness an efficient survival talent, examine suggests
Lincoln seems to have been born earlier than the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, which triggered a large burning of fossil fuels.
Researchers have used centuries previous clam shells to establish modifications within the North Atlantic local weather system. Evaluation of oxygen and carbon isotopes revealed a dramatic shift within the interplay between the ocean and the ambiance, when a regional cooling interval ended about 1850.
Lincoln will be the fourth oldest clam on document.
A take a look at the oldest identified clams
- 507-year-old Ming the Mollusk was discovered off the coast of Iceland in 2006
- 374-year-old mollusk was collected off Iceland in 1968
- 220-year-old quahog was pulled from American waters in 1982
A extra correct age of a clam may be decided with an autopsy-like examination. Ming’s estimated age was elevated 104 years when scientists studied his insides.
So, it’s fairly doable Aber-clam Lincoln is older than what the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab estimates.
And in contrast to the others, Lincoln continues to be dwelling. Ming and the others aren’t growing old anymore.
Lincoln will likely be hitting the waves, again within the surf alongside the Gulf Coast as of Feb. 24.
“We simply figured he received’t reside very nicely in captivity. And I believe he’s earned the correct to remain on the market,” stated Parker.
